WINDSOR, Ont. -- Windsor’s mayor and councillors gather more frequently behind closed doors than they do in open council sessions, according to a new report.

“I find that somewhat surprising — to me, that’s not a good thing,” Ward 4 Coun. Alan Halberstadt said of the report’s findings, which go to council Monday.

In one of the five years examined, city politicians actually spent more time meeting in private than they did in public. Long a critic of in-camera deliberations, Halberstadt said it’s been years since he originally requested regular reports from the city clerk’s office comparing open versus closed meetings.

The report shows between 2007 and 2011, there were 211 in-camera meetings compared to only 193 open council meetings.

“I didn’t realize we were having more in-camera than open meetings,” said Halberstadt.

Of the five years covered, only 2010 saw more public meetings (37) than in-camera (33). In 2009, council spent more total time behind closed doors (83 hours) than it did out in the open (82 hours), but more than half of that time was spent dealing with that summer’s long and bitter CUPE municipal workers strike.

In an interview last week, chief administrative officer Helga Reidel said a number of “deliberate actions” were recently implemented to minimize the amount of political time spent behind closed doors. There hasn’t been an in-camera meeting in more than two months, the longest such stretch anyone at city hall can remember.

“Strange, all of a sudden we don’t need these in-camera discussions,” said Halberstadt, referring to the switch to more “confidential memos” attached to staff reports.

Ward 7 Coun. Percy Hatfield said he feels “comfortable” with the types of issues city council has been tackling out of the public eye.

In addition to labour and contract issues, including CUPE workers and the subsequent efforts of non-unionized professional staff to organize, Hatfield said the closed-door discussions included negotiations with the province over what became the Windsor-Essex Parkway and legal issues surrounding the bridge company and boarded-up homes in West Windsor. Development, including initiatives like the MRO hangar at Windsor Airport and wind turbine manufacturer CS Wind, also required council’s attention in private, said Hatfield.

“The in-camera process allows for the protection of the interests of the corporation and the protection of individuals,” said Ward 8 Coun. Bill Marra.

The city clerk’s report shows council’s public meetings over the past five years ranged in length from three minutes (June 7, 2010) to almost seven hours (Feb. 26, 2008), while in-camera sessions went from two minutes (Sept. 22, 2008) to almost five hours (March 27, 2008).

Every item dealt with on the in-camera agenda comes with a staff explanation on the legal reason in the Municipal Act why it shouldn’t be dealt with in public, said Marra. He said anyone on council can speak out against any issue being dealt with in-camera.

While rare, “occasionally, we’ll bump an item back into the public,” said Marra. He said he disagrees with any “blanket statements” that there are too many in-camera items being discussed by council.

“No doubt, there are legitimate reasons for going in-camera,” said Halberstadt.

Reidel said the report shows that the number of in-camera sessions is going down. Last year’s 31 such meetings were down substantially from 53 in 2008.

True, says Halberstadt, but the number of council meetings has also been going down (30 in 2011, down from 44 in 2008). That’s largely the result of Windsor’s new standing committee structure that sees less time on council nights devoted to the discussion of issues now dealt with at the committee level.

Halberstadt is concerned there’s less opportunity for public input at committee meetings usually scheduled for mornings and afternoons, while the decisions made at that level are then “bundled” and dealt with by the dozens at a time on council nights.

“It doesn’t give the public the opportunity to give input ... everything’s jammed together,” said Halberstadt.

Amherstburg town council was recently raked over the coals by Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin for its practice of conducting municipal affairs behind closed doors and holding illegal votes on matters that should have been conducted in public.

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